The following is a timeline of key events related to Minamata disease:
Date Event 1908 Nichitsu opens a chemical factory in Minamata 1932 Acetaldehyde production using a mercury catalyst begins 1945 Japan is defeated in World War II. The Allied occupying forces order the dismissal of Nichitsu 1950 Shin Nichitsu is founded as the successor to the old company August 1951 The co-catalysed was changed from manganese dioxide to ferric sulfide resulting in side production of methylmercury 1956 1 May Company hospital director Hajime Hosokawa reports the discovery of Minamata disease 24 August Kumamoto University research group formed 4 November Kumamoto University research group reports initial suspicion of a heavy metal poisoning, presumably through eating contaminated fish 1958 March British neurologist Douglas McAlpine suggests that Minamata disease symptoms resemble those of organic mercury poisoning September Shin Nichitsu changes the acetaldehyde plant wastewater discharge route from Minamata Bay to Minamata River 1959 February Investigations of Minamata Bay uncover shocking mercury contamination 29 August Mediated compensation agreement between Chisso and the Minamata Fishing Cooperative for damage to fishing 21 October Shin Nichitsu changes the acetaldehyde plant wastewater discharge route back from Minamata River to Minamata Bay 2 November Members of the Kumamoto Prefectural Alliance of Fishing Cooperatives invade the Minamata factory and riot, causing damage amounting to JPY10 million 12 November The Ministry of Health and Welfare reports that "Minamata disease is a poisoning disease... caused by the consumption of large quantities of fish and shellfish living in Minamata Bay and its surroundings, the major causative agent being some sort of organic mercury compound." 17 December Mediated compensation agreement between Chisso and the Kumamoto Prefectural Alliance of Fishing Cooperatives for damage to fishing 29 December Mediated compensation agreement between Chisso and the Minamata Disease Patients Families Mutual Aid Society 29 November 1962 18 children are certified as the first congenital Minamata disease victims 1965 1 January Shin Nichitsu changes its name to the Chisso Corporation 12 June The outbreak of a second Minamata disease in Niigata Prefecture is made public 1968 March Niigata patients file a lawsuit against Showa Denko 26 September The national government issues an official conclusion as to the cause of Minamata disease and Niigata Minamata disease 1969 14 June Litigation Group of the Mutual Aid Society files a lawsuit against Chisso in the Kumamoto District Court 1970 4 July Hajime Hosokawa testifies from his deathbed about his cat experiments in the Litigation Group trial 27 May Arbitrated compensation agreement between Chisso and the Arbitration Group of the Mutual Aid Society 1971 29 September Showa Denko found guilty of negligence; Niigata patients win compensation 1973 20 March Chisso found guilty of negligence; Litigation Group patients win compensation 1977 1977 A net is installed around Minamata Bay to prevent toxic sludge and fish from contaminating other areas 1997 1 September 1997 The net surrounding Minamata Bay is removed and fish caught there are declared safe to eat 2004 15 October 2004 The Supreme Court of Japan rules that the national government was responsible for not preventing the spread of Minamata disease after 1960
References
"Minamata Disease: The History and Measures", The Ministry of the Environment, (2002), retrieved 17 January 2007 "Minamata Disease Archives" by the National Institute for Minamata Disease, retrieved 29 October 2006 Harada, Masazumi. (1972). Minamata Disease. Kumamoto Nichinichi Shinbun Centre & Information Center/Iwanami Shoten Publishers. C3036 George, S. Timothy. (2001). Minamata: Pollution and the Struggle for Democracy in Postwar Japan. Harvard University Press. Ui, Jun. (1992). Industrial Pollution in Japan. United Nations University Press. . Chapter 4, section IV Smith, W. E. and Smith, A. M. (1975). Minamata. Chatto & Windus, Ltd. (London),
Further reading Oiwa, Keibo. (2001). Rowing the Eternal Sea: The Story of a Minamata Fisherman. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Steingraber, Sandra. (2001). Having Faith: An Ecologist Journey to Motherhood. Perseus Publishing. Approaches to Water Pollution Control, Minamata City, Kumamoto Prefecture Allchin, Douglas. The Poisoning of Minamata Sung about in the Alt. group Bush's "Disease of the Dancing Cats" Referenced as background in the 1979 horror film Prophecy Saito, Hisashi. (2009). Niigata Minamata Disease: Methyl Mercury Poisoning in Niigata, Japan. Niigata Nippo. Walker, Brett. (2010) "Toxic Archipelago: A History of Industrial Disease in Japan." University of Washington Press. Ishimure, Michiko (2003). Paradise in the Sea of Sorrow: Our Minimata Disease. Michigan Classics in Japanese Studies.
External links ATSDR - ToxFAQs: Mercury - Frequently asked questions about Mercury National Institute for Minamata Disease Minamata Disease: The History and Measures - The Ministry of the Environment's summary of Minamata disease Soshisha - The Supporting Center for Minamata Disease and the Minamata Disease Museum Aileen Archive - Copyright holder of W. Eugene Smith's Minamata photos Photograph by W. Eugene Smith - Tomoko Uemura in Her Bath, 1972 Minamata disease - Chapter from Industrial Pollution in Japan by Dr Jun Ui Toxic Archipelago: Industrial Pollution in Japan - A talk by Brett Walker, September 16, 2010 Minamata Timeline by Minamata City Council.